Japanese beetles help

[JCBurg]

hi everybody, my poor vines have been eaten alive this year. I have been spraying neem oil liberally but it’s only delayed the inevitable it seems. What is everyone else using to control this pest?

 

[Masbustelo]

Sevin. I walk through and shoot every JB I see. Every day. Until they are gone.

 

[JCBurg]

Sevin. I walk through and shoot every JB I see. Every day. Until they are gone.

Hi friend, thanks for the reply. I think o tried sevin last year and it wasn’t awesome. You’re saying you used the spray? What time do you go out and treat?

 

[Masbustelo]

They are more active in the evenings. I don't spray the vines, just the bugs. I keep a spray bottle handy when I'm in the vines and the Beetles are out. Mine are done until next year. The Sevin has worked great for me, both old formula and new. You have to kill them each day, because each day new ones show up.

 

[Rice_Guy]

Last year was sevin roughly every 7 to 10 days.
This year sevin and some areas with eight again roughly every week. Was interesting that I got to pick berries at Week four July without an infestation. Spraying started at week one August.
Four years ago tried milky spore which seemed useless.

 

[BigH]

What is everyone else using to control this pest?

I use liquid sevin concentrate (zeta-cymerperethin). It is effective and degrades quickly. Going to give milky spore a try this fall. Don't know much about it. Some people even use cordless dust busters.

Tonight I was pondering whether I could grow some wild grape in our chicken pen to attract them away from the vineyard. I could give the wire a shake a few times a day and let the chickens eat the ones that fall.

H

 

[Rice_Guy]

Tonight I was pondering whether I could grow some wild grape in our chicken pen to attract them away from the vineyard. I could give the wire a shake a few times a day and let the chickens eat the ones that fall. H

There are a lot of plants that JB like as roses, cherries, asparagus, raspberries. You could go decorative.
My first year I thought concord was more resistant than Minnesota hybrids.

 

[JCBurg]

They are more active in the evenings. I don't spray the vines, just the bugs. I keep a spray bottle handy when I'm in the vines and the Beetles are out. Mine are done until next year. The Sevin has worked great for me, both old formula and new. You have to kill them each day, because each day new ones show up.

I have so many beetles I’m not sure that would work, though that may be because I haven’t been using the sevin. Did you treat the ground lay fall?

 

[JCBurg]

Last year was sevin roughly every 7 to 10 days.
This year sevin and some areas with eight again roughly every week. Was interesting that I got to pick berries at Week four July without an infestation. Spraying started at week one August.
Four years ago tried milky spore which seemed useless.

So you sprayed sevin about every week or so, did you cover the vines or did you just hit the bugs like masbustelo?

 

[JCBurg]

I use liquid sevin concentrate (zeta-cymerperethin). It is effective and degrades quickly. Going to give milky spore a try this fall. Don't know much about it. Some people even use cordless dust busters.

Tonight I was pondering whether I could grow some wild grape in our chicken pen to attract them away from the vineyard. I could give the wire a shake a few times a day and let the chickens eat the ones that fall.

H

See now that’s an interesting answer, what animals eat them? Seems like the liquid sevin is unanimous though. I tried the powder last year, it killed the bugs great but the powder coated plants didn’t grow very well because they weren’t getting sunlight.

 

[KevinL]

Ditto on the Liquid Sevin. I've had great results with it. I've done two whole vineyard sprays, and then I walk through on a daily basis with a squirt bottle. If your operation is small enough, then a hand bottle will be fine. Otherwise you can get a 2 or 4 gallon pump sprayer. The benefit of spraying all of the leaves is that you'll get 7-10 days of full protection. So if you need to head out of town for a few days it's a good option.

 

[JCBurg]

Ditto on the Liquid Sevin. I've had great results with it. I've done two whole vineyard sprays, and then I walk through on a daily basis with a squirt bottle. If your operation is small enough, then a hand bottle will be fine. Otherwise you can get a 2 or 4 gallon pump sprayer. The benefit of spraying all of the leaves is that you'll get 7-10 days of full protection. So if you need to head out of town for a few days it's a good option.

I have only 12 vines, so it should t require a pump sprayer. Now I just had someone recommend water and dish soap because it drown the bugs, anyone heard of that? She said it kills them by the hundreds on her crabapple tree

 

[BigH]

See now that’s an interesting answer, what animals eat them?

Both our chickens and ducks eat them.

Seems like the liquid sevin is unanimous though. I tried the powder last year

l believe the powder still uses carbaryl as the active ingredient. It is effective against JB as well, but it is important to understand that you are essentially using a different product.

H

 

[GreenEnvy22]

I use Altacor, I spray it when I first see them appear and reapply every week or two.
But this year I've only seen 1 JB so far, so haven't sprayed yet.

 

[JCBurg]

I use Altacor, I spray it when I first see them appear and reapply every week or two.
But this year I've only seen 1 JB so far, so haven't sprayed yet.

Color me jealous, how nice for you, lolz

 

[Masbustelo]

The first year I had thousands of them. This year and last year many many less. I am hoping due diligence affects the breeding population. I have read that milky spore is more effective in the South, because in the North the low temps kill the colonies.

 

[KevinL]

I have only 12 vines, so it should t require a pump sprayer. Now I just had someone recommend water and dish soap because it drown the bugs, anyone heard of that? She said it kills them by the hundreds on her crabapple tree

Water and dish soap work well to kill them, but not to repel them. I used that method and knocked them by hand into a Tupperware container filled with soapy water my first year. By the second year there were too many leaves and too many JBs to continue that method. That's when I discovered liquid Sevin and my life was changed for the better.

You could get the 2 gallon pump sprayer (usually 20-25 dollars) to make your life easier if you wanted to do a full vineyard spray. But for 12 vines, spot treatment with a spray bottle will probably be enough. You'll need to be diligent and spray them daily if you do the spot treatment method. If you're planning on leaving town, be sure to give your vines a protective spray. It's a bad feeling to go out of town for a weekend and come back to no leaves on your vine

You can also spray them with soapy water for a kill. I've read that crushing them isn't the best idea, because that will release the pheromones that they use to attract other beetles.

 

[SundownVineyard]

I use Astro (Permethrin) and it works well. Unless you have time to spray literally every few days, Neem wont control beetles nearly as well.

 

[Dennis Griffith]

Neem merely interrupts the breeding cycle for these demons. I have found the Garden Tech version of Sevin most effective. I sometimes throw in Ortho Fruit and Vegetable stuff, just to throw the critters a curve ball. I also use Bonide Fruit Tree Spray early in the season, which has Carbaryl and malathion in it (as well as Captan).

 

[JCBurg]

I use Astro (Permethrin) and it works well. Unless you have time to spray literally every few days, Neem wont control beetles nearly as well.

This, I am discovering